Clonazepam Risks and Benefits Part II

On June 23rd 2008 I made the decision to start using clonazepam (Klonipin) again, legally, under a doctor's supervision. My dose ranges at this time from .5 to 1.5 mgs per day.

A while back I wrote a short piece on clonazepam and its side effects. Apparently, some people didn't like what I had to say about it, judging from the rating it got. To be sure, it wasn't a scientific piece. It was based mostly on personal and empirical data (my experiences and those of others) which was what AC had called for.

At the end of the article, I acknowledged that if I felt the need to, I would start using clonazepam again, in spite of the risks it poses to persons with a history of substance abuse.

I acknowledged that I considered this step an option, if my PTSD and anxiety-disorder related symptoms became severe enough to impair my daily functioning. This in fact started happening sometime late in May of this year.

Basically, the longer I stay off of "drugs," the closer together the flashbacks, panic attacks and 'freeze-ups" get. This can be very inconvenient in the workplace, or at home when trying to relate to one's spouse about practical matters.

A discussion of this situation with a clinical psychologist at Mental Health center of Denver, followed by a brief meeting with my psychiatrist later that day reinstated my clonazepam regimen.

For PTSD, a low-dose benzodiazepine (Valium-family drug) maintenance is an accepted and fairly standard treatment. Benzodiazepines such as clonazepam do present problems of their own, have abuse potential and can create dependency and addiction. Many practitioners will try to avoid prescribing clonazepam and other benzodiazepines to clients with histories of substance abuse and addiction. However, these situations need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the risks and benefits to the individual patient assessed on their own merits.

In my own case, the major problems I've had with drugs involved substances other than clonazepam and benzodiazepines, and even though excessive doses of clonazepam have occasionally resulted in high-risk behaviors on my part, I have for the most part used this drug in a lawful and responsible manner in the past.

Now that I'm back on clonazepam, although various situational anxieties still get to me, the edge seems to be taken off them. The flashbacks and freeze-ups seem to be almost gone for now.

Although there a drawbacks and risks to clonazepam and other benzodiazepine therapies, they are unquestionably effective. So far I haven't come up with anything that actually works, and is legal, other than clonazepam.